The Cure for Second Lead Syndrome by Amanda Abram

CHAPTER 12

I paced back and forth in front of the living room couch. My partners in crime sat patiently, awaiting my instructions.

For two of them, my instructions were simple and harmless. But for the other one, they were a bit more radical. And he wasn’t going to like hearing them.

I had spent days trying to come up with the most perfect plan for Jordan’s party. The ultimate plan that would determine, once and for all, if Caleb had a shot at winning Paige’s heart. And while the one I’d finally come up with was extreme, it would hopefully tell us everything we needed to know. After it was done, depending on our findings, I’d have to break it to Caleb that he would never get the girl, or I’d be helping him celebrate his upcoming first date with her.

I had no idea which outcome I was expecting.

“What’s the plan, boss?” Caleb asked from his spot on the couch between Natalie and Braden.

I picked up my blank whiteboard from the coffee table and set it on Mom’s old easel I’d found tucked away in the basement. I didn’t need the whiteboard, but at this point, it was almost like my security blanket. I felt better having it there.

I took the cap off my purple dry-erase marker and wrote “STEP ONE” at the top.

“Okay,” I said, turning back around to address my audience. “I want to start by saying this was the absolute best plan I could come up with. Caleb, I know you’re probably going to protest, but all I ask is that you keep an open mind. Please?”

Caleb shifted uncomfortably between Natalie and Braden, a look of unease forming on his face. “Um…”

“Step one,” I cut in before he could say anything more. “Braden, this is your moment to shine. Sometime tonight, when everyone is gathered in one spot, you need to suggest that we start a game of Truth or Dare.”

“Truth or Dare?” Braden scoffed. “That’s your big plan? Lame.”

I ignored his criticism. “Once the game starts, Braden, you’ll go first. You’ll ask Natalie to pick truth or dare. Natalie, you can choose either one. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you will pick Caleb next, and then we move on to Step Two.”

Caleb was already starting to look worried. “Am I picking truth, or dare?”

“I’m glad you asked,” I replied with a wicked grin, which I’m sure did nothing to ease his concerns. “Caleb, you will pick dare.”

“Okay.” He turned his head to look at Natalie before glancing back at me. “And what’s the dare she’s going to give me?”

Not even Natalie knew yet. I hadn’t disclosed the details to anyone until now. “Well, see, here is where I’m gonna need you to keep an open mind.”

He looked downright scared now. “Just tell me, Bria. Don’t drag it out like we’re on some game show—”

“You’re going to kiss someone tonight,” I blurted, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Caleb paled at my words. “Wait, what?”

“Step Two,” I said, pointing to the board, “is that Natalie dares you to kiss someone. In front of Paige.”

Slowly, he began to shake his head. “No. No, I’m not—I mean, who would I even—And how is that—Just…no, Bria. Absolutely not. New plan.”

With a heavy sigh, I began writing it on the board anyway, despite Caleb’s protests. “Sorry, Caleb, but it’s too late to come up with a new plan. Besides, this is the best one. Do you want to make Paige jealous or not? Because if not, then you might as well go to this party by yourself because obviously I’m no longer needed.”

“I don’t like this,” he said, frowning. “At all.”

“I didn’t expect you to. But trust me, this is what needs to happen.”

Natalie nodded beside Caleb. “Bria’s right. This is a good, solid plan.”

“How is having Caleb kiss a girl other than Paige a ‘good, solid plan’?” Braden asked her.

Natalie rolled her eyes. “Have you never seen a romantic comedy?”

“No, I don’t watch that crap,” Braden scoffed.

“If Caleb is looking to make Paige jealous, kissing another girl is the only way to go. If she has dormant feelings for him, and she sees him locking lips with another woman, it’s going to make her realize how she feels about him real fast.”

“Exactly,” I said.

“If I agree to go along with this, who would I even kiss?” Caleb asked.

“We won’t know until the game begins,” I replied. “We pretty much have to wait and see what other girls are playing. It’ll be up to Natalie to choose.”

Natalie beamed at that news. Caleb looked scared. Braden looked skeptical.

“No matter who you’re kissing,” I continued, “I will be monitoring Paige’s reaction the entire time. It should be fairly easy to see if the kiss is getting any sort of reaction out of her.”

Braden poked Caleb’s shoulder. “Are you seriously going to go along with this?”

Caleb’s eyes met mine, and I tried to silently communicate with him that I knew what I was doing.

Even though that was debatable.

“Yes,” he answered finally. “I’m going to go along with this.”

“You think kissing some random girl is going to make Paige fall in love with you?” Braden snorted as he rose from the couch. “Why doesn’t Natalie just dare you to kiss Paige? Wouldn’t that make more sense?”

Natalie and I exchanged a humored glanced. “That would be a terrible idea,” I said.

“Why?”

“Because a kiss between them before everyone’s feelings are known will only make things awkward. We’re trying to avoid that. Besides, do you think Caleb wants his first kiss with Paige to be part of some silly party game in front of all his friends? Probably not.”

Slowly, Caleb nodded in agreement. “She’s got a point. That’s not what I want our first kiss to be.”

“See?” I said to Braden. “I know what I’m talking about.”

Braden threw his hands up in defeat. “Okay. Fine. Now that the plan has been discussed and agreed upon, can we please leave?”

“Sure. Is everyone ready?”

Natalie and Caleb nodded as they stood from the couch and began to follow Braden out of the room.

“Hey, Caleb,” I said before he had a chance to step out into the foyer. “Can you hang back a sec?” I glanced at Natalie and Braden. “You guys can head outside. We’ll be out in a minute.”

Caleb made his way back over to me as the other two walked out the front door. “What’s up?”

I popped the cap back onto my marker and took the whiteboard off the easel. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

He was silent for a moment as he ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah. Okay enough, anyway. It’s not like there’s a better option, right?”

“Right. It’s just…I know kissing someone might be weird—”

“It’ll be fine. It’s just part of the plan.”

I searched his face for any indication that he wasn’t okay, but he did seem fine. Either that, or he was good at hiding his true feelings.

“Okay, well, with that said, is there any girl you know who’s going to be at the party tonight that you wouldn’t mind kissing? Besides Paige, of course.”

Caleb shrugged. “No. Any girl is fine.” He paused. “Although, ideally, it would be you that I kissed.”

My breath hitched in my throat. Did I hear him correctly? Did he say that I was the one he should kiss? My face flushed hot as I struggled to think of a response.

“I just mean because Paige thinks there’s something going on between us,” he added quickly. “We’d be more likely to get a reaction out of her if I were to kiss you rather than some other random girl.”

He had a point there. A very good point. “Then let’s do it,” I said before my mouth had a chance to consult with my brain.

He blinked at me in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“You would do that for me?”

“Sure,” I said casually. “Why not?”

Why not? Because it was a bad idea. I’d never kissed anyone before. Except for Bobby Middleton in eighth grade. During a game of spin-the-bottle at a birthday party we shared a quick peck on the lips that was over before I even knew what had happened. This kiss wouldn’t be like that. A quick, simple kiss wasn’t going to get any sort of reaction out of Paige. It wouldn’t be enough to make her jealous, or to make her realize she didn’t like seeing Caleb kissing other girls. No. This kiss would have to be epic. There was no way an inexperienced kisser like me could help pull that off.

But Caleb was right: kissing any other girl wouldn’t give us the result we were looking for. It had to be me. That was literally the only thing we had left to try. If it worked, then I could declare my plan a success; Caleb and Paige would ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. The second lead would finally get the girl. If it didn’t work, then I could finally tell Caleb it was time to give up. To move on. I’d find a way to gently break the news. Either way it went, it would all be over. My plan would be complete. Caleb and I would stop hanging out, and it wouldn’t matter that we’d once kissed each other for a game at a party. Caleb would become another Bobby Middleton: the subject of a fun little anecdote I could share someday with the boy I’d have my first real kiss with.

So, maybe it wasn’t that bad of an idea after all.

“Just so you know,” Caleb said, “I wasn’t suggesting you volunteer. I would never ask you to do that. Not that I wouldn’t—I mean, it’s not that the thought of—It’s just, I wouldn’t want things to be weird—”

“Caleb,” I interrupted with a chuckle. “It’s okay. If it helps you end up with Paige, I want to do it. It’s not like it’s going to be a real kiss or anything. But if you’d feel more comfortable with someone else—”

“No.” Caleb shook his head. “If you’re okay with this, I’m okay with this.”

I was suddenly aware of my heartbeat as I stared up at him. “Okay. I’ll tell Natalie to pick me, then.”

Caleb directed his gaze to the floor and nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.”

After a moment of awkward silence, I asked, “So, um, are you ready to go?”

He was quick to answer. “Yep.” He turned on his heel and headed for the foyer without saying another word.

I followed him out of the house, where Natalie and Braden were waiting for us on the porch. As Caleb and Braden took off for the car, I grabbed Natalie’s arm and held her back.

“Hey, so, there’s been an adjustment to the plan,” I informed her.

“Oh yeah? What kind of adjustment?”

“When you dare Caleb to kiss someone tonight, make that someone me.”

Natalie stared at me, unblinking. “You’re not serious.”

“I am.”

She inhaled sharply and held her breath for a few seconds before letting it back out in a sigh. “Why you?”

“Because Caleb and I talked about it, and we both agreed that I’m the only choice that makes sense. Why would Paige care if he kissed some random girl for a dare? She will care if he kisses me—the girl she already suspects he may like.”

“And what if she doesn’t care? What if she is truly happy to see you two kiss?”

“At least we’ll know either way.” I paused to narrow my eyes at her. “Why are you giving me a hard time about this?”

“I’m not,” she said, holding her hands up defensively. “If that’s what you want me to do, that’s what I’ll do.”

“It is.”

“Okay then.” She smiled and threw her arm around me as we descended the steps. “Let’s do this.”